


A Good Morning

by lebedeinetraume



Category: Top Gun (1986)
Genre: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-25
Updated: 2013-04-27
Packaged: 2017-12-09 11:18:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/773605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lebedeinetraume/pseuds/lebedeinetraume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a restful sleep, Ice wakes up to find that things may not be all right with Maverick.  [[WWII AU]]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a World War Two alternate universe for “Top Gun” where I’ve taken the main characters, Maverick, Iceman, Viper, Goose, and Slider and put them in the South Pacific. Due to the fact that Corsairs were single-seaters, I’ve turned Goose and Slider into pilots themselves, helping to expand the squadron. As always, I claim none of these characters as my own nor am I making a profit from this in any way.

Too long Iceman had gone without being able to fully relax his body and soul, having been confined to the strict rigors of an executive officer’s life and with it, all the responsibility in the world. More and more Commander Metcalf had been relying on him to take care of the squadron, which meant only one thing; Viper was going to be promoted soon and with it, a higher command. Ice knew exactly where he was headed. He grinned to himself and stared up at the ceiling. For once in his entire tour in the South Pacific, he was fully confident in his capabilities to command the entire squadron. Already he was shouldering most of the responsibilities and delegating tasks to enlisted as needed. Whenever Viper wasn't in the air leading, Ice was always there, and he was always the one taking the lead. And no one seemed to object to that, even Maverick, who, every now and then, still put up a good act just to keep Ice on his toes.

Ice couldn't keep the grin off of his face. It was going to be a glorious day! He glanced over his left shoulder and smiled at his companion, who was still resting on his side, taking in the last few precious minutes of the dawn before having to awaken. Even though Maverick's arrival last night had disrupted Ice's paperwork that had nearly made him late in turning them in by spending the time instead to pull Maverick out of his shell-shocked state, Ice was grateful that Maverick had been there with him that night. Though the incident with the Zero that had nearly killed Maverick twice was several months in the past and for the most part, Maverick had seemed fully recovered from the crash, these last few days something had triggered painful memories that were keeping him in a bunker that he couldn't get out of nor could anyone get in. 

By putting all of his focus on another soul and tending to it with compassion and love it had brought about healing, not just in Maverick, but also in Ice who had been so concerned with his duties as an executive officer that he had grown quite cold to the others. But now Ice felt his own soul rejuventated by being the only one able to pull Maverick out of that dark corner and to bring him warmth and safety. Only he had managed this; no one else. How ironic it was that when they first met, they couldn't stand one another. Now, even Viper saw that they were the most effective fighting force in the whole squadron.

"When I am promoted to squadron commander, I am going to need someone to be my second. You know, to be my underling." Smirking a little, Ice gave Maverick's shoulder a prod. "Do you know of a pilot that I can trust to fill that position?"

The silence worried Ice none, as he knew that with the sort of ongoing mental battle that Maverick had been engaged in, he was probably still resting it off. Drawing closer to him, Ice stroked Maverick's slightly damp hair and smiled knowingly. "You can still sleep, Mitchell. I'm not trying to stop you. I know what you've been through last night."

He wrapped an arm around Maverick's shoulder and hugged him gently while pressing a kiss to his bare neck. "See, you're still safe."

Maverick stirred a little, then turned his head to look up at Ice and smiled weakly.

Ice kissed his brow before sweeping his fingers lightly across his cheek. "Go back to sleep, Mitchell. You look like you could use some more sleep."

"I'll be fine," replied Maverick, but already his eyes were beginning to close.

To help him go back to sleep, Ice gently brushed Maverick's bangs back and watched as his eyelids drifted shut once more. This time however, Ice felt no joy in having helped put him to sleep. Something didn't seem right with Maverick. He was sweaty and that look of fear was back in his eyes, though not nearly as dominating as it had been last night. Ice pressed a tender kiss to Maverick's cheek before pulling Maverick against him. He slipped his arm underneath Maverick's and held him, hoping to reassure him that things were going to be okay. Maybe those nightmares of Maverick's had returned. Maybe this ordeal wasn't over yet.

"I got through mine, Pete," whispered Ice fiercely. "I'll help you through yours. I won't leave you to fight this alone."


	2. A Growing Concern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite Ice's reassurance that it's all because of stress, Maverick cannot shake an illness that has taken him so quickly and so painfully.

Unable to ignore the shivering any longer, Maverick opened his eyes. Already there was significantly more light in the room than earlier, though a look at the clock showed that it was only 0830 hours. Mavericked sighed softly, then immediately shivered. Things were definitely getting worse for him, but he had no idea to what the cause could be. Last night he had walked out of the movie being shown in the lecture hall, unable to make it beyond the news reel as it showed some horrific plane crashes. The headache that he had from before hadn't helped any, nor had the constant shifting between hot and cold; and most certainly the rain had done its part to cast Maverick into such a forlorn state as this. He was cold; so very cold.

Maverick rolled onto his opposite side, taking care to not disturb Ice, who still had his arm draped loosely under Maverick's. He then drew closer to Ice and put his forehead against Ice's bare chest while slipping his arm underneath Ice's so he could be even closer to him. The shivering did not lessen, no matter how tucked against Ice's warm body he was. Maverick tried to calm his racing thoughts as they recalled how he had spent most of the night between shivering, feeling feverish, and then sweating. When Ice had awoken him, he must have been between spells, for he hardly recalled feeling anything, but now all he felt was a painful cold filling his whole body. Whatever it was, Maverick thought sleepily as he began to doze off once more despite his trembling, he hoped that it would soon pass.

A kiss to his hair roused Maverick from his brief rest some twenty minutes later and he more than happily shifted so he could recieve another, but this time on his lips. It was too brief though, and Maverick, catching Ice before he could move away, pulled him down for another. They lingered in the embrace, caressing one another's lips tenderly, and Maverick, who was now feeling a painful heat rising into his head, didn't dare to break away. He needed this and by the way that Ice slid his fingers into Maverick's hair and massaged his head, Maverick knew that Ice was looking for reassurance that everything was okay now. Too bad Maverick's own confidence was wanning. Pulling away, Maverick settled once more on the bed and let Ice continue stroking his hair. It was the only thing that didn't hurt right now.

"Maverick, what's wrong?" asked Ice quietly as he slid his hand down Maverick's cheek. His eyes brightened with sudden concern over his friend's state. "You're warm, very warm." He brought his hand to Maverick's brow and felt it, then swept his bangs back. "Is it the nightmares? Are you sick?"

"I don't know," replied Maverick quietly. "It might be just my body reacting to everything that we've been through. You know how we've been flying our butts ragged for the last three weeks. All of us were riding on very little sleep."

"Chow wasn't terribly helpful either," replied Ice with a frown. "Well, maybe after a shower and a good breakfast you'll feel better."

"Isn't the mess hall closed?"

Ice laughed quietly, an effect that charmed Maverick's aching head. Ice replied, "I am a lieutenant commander and an executive officer. I think I can scrounge up something, especially if I tell them that my poor, war-hero buddy slept in so late because his heroic missions had exhausted him."

"Not far from the truth, especially the heroics bit," chuckled Maverick, but he winced, feeling pain in his stomach. That was probably the lack of decent food, Maverick thought with a sniff. Without ceremony, Maverick got out of the bed and made his way over to the shower, which wasn't anything spectacular or impressive. It was nestled in a space the size of the wall locker and shared its quarters with the toliet. There wasn't much room to move, but in his state, Maverick just didn't care.

He let the water run over his head and down his bare back. The heat had returned and Maverick was eager to get rid of it. Ice had promised a breakfast and he wasn't about to let him down. Only Ice seemed to understand what he was really going through, having struggled with some of his past near death experiences before. Whatever arrogance that had kept the pair of them hating one another had dissolved entirely that moment that Ice had his first breakdown. No one had seen it but Maverick, and he never let anyone know about it either. Since that day, the two had grown closer and closer. Now it was his turn needing guidance through this mess of trauma, but Maverick was confident that Ice would stick with him. Ice had promised him, and nothing could ever break his promises.

Switching off the water, Maverick found that though the fever seemed to have passed, he was now cold once more, even in his head. Hurriedly he dried himself off and got into his clothes. When he came out, he found his shirt sitting next to the sink and looked over at Ice, who was currently brushing off one of his tan Dress B uniforms. Maverick looked to the bed and saw one of his own uniforms there and lifted a brow at it.

"Figured you might want your uniform before we head out. One last thing to do, you know." Ice smiled and walked towards the shower. "You left me some hot water though, right? You were in there a while!"

Putting on his shirt and doing his best not to look as cold as he felt, Maverick smiled weakly. "You shouldn't have anything to worry about."

"Oh really?" Ice smirked and disappeared for a moment.

The sound of running water caught Maverick's ears but already he was sinking to the floor beside the bed. He wrapped his arms tight across his chest and shut his eyes. Why couldn't anything go right?

"It's freezing! Maverick! I know my callsign is Ice but that doesn't necessarily mean that I like it..." His words trailed off and Ice slowly came out of the shower room.

Maverick opened his eyes and regarded Ice with apologetic, exhausted eyes. But there was no anger in Ice, only worry. Ice crossed the short distance to the bed and took a knee. He swept Maverick's wet bangs back and felt his forehead.

"Now you're the one who's freezing," remarked Ice in surprise. "Pete, are you sure you're okay?"

"I think it was stupid of me to take a cold shower."

Ice just frowned at him and ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's get you back in bed." He helped Maverick into the bed and then brought the blankets over him and tucked the edges under Maverick's chin.

"There," he said with a small smile. "I'm going to take a quick, warm shower, and we'll see how you're feeling. This should do the trick though. Just, take it easy, Mitchell."

Maverick felt Ice stroking his hair back and shut his eyes. As before, it was the only thing that was bringing his body physical comfort. He felt Ice press a loving, but indefinitely worried, kiss to his brow. Maverick heard the shower turn on again, then immediately fell asleep. The sleep didn't last for long however, as Maverick suddenly began feeling uncomfortable once more. He lay still on the bed, trying in vain to hold onto the dream that he had been having of flying alongside Ice in the Corsairs, taking a nice flight at sunset. But he could no longer see it and soon he was hearing Ice's frightened voice calling to him.

"Pete! Pete! Oh thank, God!"

Maverick stirred, then opened his eyes and turned his gaze upwards to see a completely panic-stricken Ice. He felt a cloth being wiped along his cheeks and then across his brow. Maverick asked weakly, "What's going on?"

"What's going on? Good question!" Ice shook his head and replied, "You're soaked, Pete! Every time I wipe the sweat from your face it's immediately replaced! It's like you've been thrown into the damn ocean!"

"I, I don't know what's wrong."

"God damnit," Ice growled, though Maverick could tell by the fear in Ice's eyes that he was not really mad at him. Ice helped Maverick into a sitting position and said in a shaky voice, "That's it, I'm taking you to the hospital. I can't figure out if this is just stress or a heat stroke, or something!"

"No, no hospitals," Maverick groaned.

"It's not up for discussion! You're going! Now come on, get up! You can lean on me!"

Maverick let Ice pull him onto his feet and then leaned against him as they left Ice's quarters. Maverick hated the hospital and he hated even more the idea that something was desperately wrong with him. He hated the worry in Ice's voice and even more, that deep panic that had made his voice tremble like that. Maybe this was nothing though and perhaps just stress related, as Ice had suggested. Once outside though, Maverick felt his stomach lurch and he immediately steered himself away from Ice, wretching into a shrub once he was barely clear. The shivering returned and Maverick felt sweat running down his face. On top of everything else, his stomach clenched painfully, unwilling to be completely free of its burden just yet. Maverick staggered, then vomitted once more.

"Maverick?" asked Ice and he placed his hand on his back. "I'm not making you walk there. You just stay right there, okay?"

Ice turned away and looked at the road where he saw an approaching jeep and immediately flagged it down. How happy he was to see the familiar enlisted Navy insignia. "Lieutenant Mitchell needs to get to the hospital now!"

The sailor, who at first looked disgruntled at having his trip cut so short, immediately recognised the rank on Ice's collar and replied, "Aye, Sir! Would he be comfortable in the back?"

"No, front." Ice went back to Maverick, whose shivering had increased. After helping Maverick into the front seat, Ice climbed into the back and the jeep jerked forward, then sped off towards the hospital.

Maverick shut his eyes to keep the scenery from causing further nausea. He mumbled, "Sorry, Ice. I didn't..."

"They're just bushes," replied Ice with a soft, dry laugh.

The rest of the trip was quiet and when they reached the hospital, Ice found Maverick with his arms wrapped tightly around himself with his eyes shut. The drenching sweat had not abated any but happily, Maverick had not thrown up since the barracks.

"Mitchell, we're here," said Ice as he put his hand against Maverick's shoulder.

The young sailor looked at the two and said, "I'll get a nurse to help you!"

Ice shook his head and carefully picked Maverick up in his arms. "I've wasted too much time as it is. If you want to be of help, get the damn door!"

The sailor bolted for the hospital door and flung it open, shouting urgently, "We've got a sick man coming your way! Needs help fast!" He gasped, then added quickly, "Sir!"

Maverick's head rested against Ice's shoulder as he was carried to the door, but each step furthered his agony. If this was to continue, Maverick didn't know how much longer his body could hold out. He didn't expect to die this way; not over some unknown silent killer. He gasped painfully, then let his head slide from Ice's shoulder where he became limp in Ice's arms.


End file.
